


Avona, Rightful Heir of Erebor

by DonnaClaireHolmes



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family, Gen, Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 12:22:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3609936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonnaClaireHolmes/pseuds/DonnaClaireHolmes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For years after Bilbos return to Baggend, he stayed connected to Balin through letters. Balin would let him know of the progress going on in Erebor. Bilbo would reminisce about the little things to happen during their adventure. In some of Balin's final letters, he entrusts Bilbo with a secret that only few were trusted with. </p>
<p>Fili wasn't exactly the next heir after Thorin.... his daughter was.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Avona, Rightful Heir of Erebor

My Dearest Bilbo,

I am about to go on another quest, and I fear this will be my last. My time may be coming, and there is a secret that will die with me. I can't let it, Thorin would not want me to. If he could have, he would have shared it with you himself.

There was a time in Thorin's life when being a royal was uneventful. He would spend his some of his days shadowing his father, Thrain, in an attempt to understand the responsibilities of a prince. But being the young, adventurous man he was, he would roam the halls of the mountain, looking for anything. A trade master, a friend, something. He ended up at the blacksmiths shop, learning how to fashion dwarfish swords. Thorin then took these swords to practice fighting. There was an academy for young men looking to join the army, and Thorin signed up in secret. Of course, he told me, but that was it.

For days, the lad would practice. Once he came back to his chambers and slept for two days straight out of exhaustion! The next day, I saw a change in Thorin, he was practicing less, eating less, talking less, and disappearing more. My best informants couldn't even find him. Until one day, I caught him. He was reading a letter, clearly from a young maiden. The parchment reeked of perfume, and the writing was too elegant to be any mans. From that day forward, Thorin had a bit more of a "spring in his step", so to speak.

Thrain approached me after a few weeks of this behavior and begged that I looked into it. He was to be my king, and he was my friend, so how could I say no? I waited in Thorin's chambers one afternoon before he was to arrive from academy. When he returned, he had no problem telling me about his current, well, relationship status. It began at the academy. There was a smaller section of the academy specifically for young lasses, like the lads, who wanted to fight for their people. Once a month, the young men and women would join together and send representatives to fight against each other, showing off the skills of both sides. Representing the men was Thorin, naturally, and my younger brother, Dwalin. On the other side, two ladies with impeccable skill, but only one that caught Thorin's eye.

Mevina, daughter the king's chief blacksmith, who was as skilled as she was beautiful, stole Thorin's heart before he could even say hello. I do have to say, he and my brother lost miserably to the two, and Thorin took it surprisingly well. They would sneak away after practices and just fight with each other. I actually witnessed their first kiss. Thorin had been loosing, again. Mevina had him on his back, sword to his throat, and she just smiled. He reached his hand to the back of her head and pulled her in. It took her a minute not to retaliate with a punch in the face, but the sword was eventually thrown to one side, and they just laid there, holding each other. 

See, Bilbo, Thrain had always believed that his son would marry a simple maiden who would cook and clean and raise the next heirs of Erebor. He never even thought his son would fall for a warrior. So the couple kept their relationship a secret, only entrusting me. They were to be married in secret a few short months later, as soon as Mevina found out she was to be a mother. They had a healthy little girl, Avona, which meant powerful and complete.

The little lassie got her first sword when she was five years old. A ritual would usually be in place for a member of the royal family, but seeing as the girl was to be kept away from that lifestyle, I gave a small ceremony for the happy couple and their little warrior. Avona was beautiful like her mother, adventurous like her father, and strong like both of her parents. In the morning, Avona would study with her mother and I, while she spent the afternoons with her father, learning how to master the sword. She was a quick learner, and very wise for her age. Thorin and I agreed that one day, she would make a fine ruler of Erebor. 

On her sixteenth birthday, Thorin took Avona for a walk, where they were intercepted by guards and brought to Thrain. To put it mildly, Thrain was furious, but not for the reasons you would think. Family is very important to dwarves, so knowing that Thorin kept his a secret from his own father was the one thing that upset him the most. After Thrain's little speech about family, Avona tried to get down on one knee and bow to her grandfather. This made him cry, and helping the girl up, he kissed her forehead, welcoming her to the family.

In the two years that followed, Avona was taught the way of the royal family. She attended war room meetings with her father, while still having the time to practice their fighting. For their daughters impending eighteenth birthday, Thorin and Mevina crafted a pendant. A six sided symbol with a smaller six sided shape in the center. Symmetrical lines passed between the two forms, representing the connection between the princess and her kingdom. The girl's birthday was to be a celebration throughout the entire kingdom, but it had an unwanted guest.

Dale was under attack from the terrible Smaug, and the dwarves of Erebor prepared for the worst. Mevina, moving up the ranks and becoming chief of the king's army. Standing in the front lines with Thorin at her side, she fought braver that day than any other. But her end came too soon, as she tried to scale the beast itself, he grabbed her with his tail and flung her to a wall. Thorin didn't even get one last chance to tell his wife he loved her. 

Avona wasn't quite at the front with her parents, but also took part in the battle against the dragon. She, too, fought nobly till the very end. Her's, I must say, was quite tragic. She was with her father and I, nearing the end of the battle, trying to help the wounded escape. Smaug had hit some stalactites near the entrance of the mountain, sending one hurtling down at Thorin. Avona jumped, pushing her father aside, and took the sharpened rock through her stomach. He looked back in devastation, as his only daughter saved his life, costing her own.

She didn't have long. Thorin held her head up and grasped her hand with the other. With what strength she could muster, Avona ripped the pendant from her neck, and placed it in her fathers hand. No words were spoken, but none were needed. Everything was said through their deep blue eyes. Thorin's, saying _please don't leave me_. Avona's, saying _I love you, father_. With a smile on her face, and after one more shriek of pain, the princess breathed her last.

Of course, we lost Erebor that day, but Thorin could never truly find a home again. He had lost everything that meant home to him when he lost Mevina and Avona. It took him a while to find a way to keep their memory with him, and a certain pendant would be very helpful. Thorin used the shape of that pendant to make a belt buckle. Specifically the one he wore when he came to your house all those years ago, Bilbo. He still wore the original pendant underneath his shirt, to keep his loves close to his heart. 

And that, my friend, is my oldest secret. The story of the rightful heir of Erebor. Guard it well, for I trust you will.

~ _Balin_


End file.
